It wasn't easy picking school tax panels

Districts had trouble finding members with diverse backgrounds for the commissions.

September 18, 2006|By Arlene Martínez Of The Morning Call

Sometimes it took a little nudging, multiple advertisements and aggressive recruiting, but for the most part, local residents were more than willing to tackle the task of seeking a more equitable way to pay for public education.

They'll join five-, seven- or nine-member tax study commissions charged with answering: Should a district reduce its dependence on real estate taxes in favor of increased earned income or personal taxes, or a combination of both?

Thursday was the deadline for school boards to appoint the commissions, mandated by the state under a provision of Act 1, known as the Taxpayer Relief Act.

During the next three months, the commissions will plod through the districts' finances and tax structures and involve the community in at least one public hearing.

Each will study the makeup of their communities  renters or homeowners, younger families or seniors on fixed incomes are among the factors to be considered  and return with a nonbinding recommendation, which the school board can accept or reject.

Voters will have the final say in a May referendum.

Interest in serving ranged from nil -- Salisbury School District's five-member commission was entirely recruited -- to 57 applicants vying to become one of Souderton Area School District's nine commission members.

And while debate erupted in Saucon Valley, Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area school districts over the size and makeup of the commission, most other districts in Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks and Montgomery counties reported successfully filling their commissions with people of varying socioeconomic status, occupations and ages.

Souderton Superintendent Charles Amuso was pleased with the high interest. "It was very gratifying to experience all that interest," he said. "I know in some parts of the state they had a difficult time getting anybody to get interested."

He said the new commission includes parents, seniors and many others, representing seven income groups, ranging from less than $25,000 to more than $150,000.

Other districts found commissions they said meet the law's goals that a commission be diverse "to the extent possible."

The Easton Area School District painstakingly sought a broad representation and got it: Its nine appointees include two minorities, varying income levels, young and old, professionals and nonprofessionals, retirees, five men and four women, and residents from all its municipalities except Riegelsville.

The district extended its deadline for applicants to Sept. 12 and re-advertised because it felt it did not have enough of a cross section of applicants the first time around.

Allentown School Board President Jeff Glazer said its commission's seven members, selected from a pool of 13, also reflect the city's diversity.

Parkland Business Administrator John A. Vignone said the board "spent a considerable amount of time" tending to the Act 1 suggestion that districts try to choose members reflecting community diversity.

"We called it "the diversity rule,"' Vignone said.

The district advertised for applicants and received 31, meaning many worthy applicants had to be passed over, he said.

Nazareth twice advertised in four local newspapers, contacted the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, the library, asked local municipalities to mention the commission during meetings and posted it on its Web site, said district Business Administrator Bernadette Rishcoff.

Though Rishcoff called the 17 responses disappointing, she said the commission's mix of professionals, retirees and homemakers was a good representation of the community. And the district was able to find a resident from each of its six municipalities.

Pen Argyl also achieved geographic diversity, with representatives from each of its three municipalities. Its seven-member commission was selected from 15 applicants.

But things weren't smooth everywhere.

Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley's board members disagreed over whether their commissions were diverse enough.

Despite having a relatively high Hispanic student population -- 30 percent -- no Hispanics are on the Bethlehem commission. That's because none applied, said School Director Charlene Koch.

During a heated meeting last Monday, Koch angrily denied charges by fellow Director Judith Dexter that Dexter's west Bethlehem neighborhood had been purposely excluded by the board.

The same night in Northampton, Director Richard Zuercher stormed out before voting in protest of what he felt was a lack of geographic and occupational representation, pointing out none were residents in three of the district's seven municipalities and none were farmers.

Saucon Valley School Director Sandra Miller on Tuesday expressed displeasure that no applicants were renters.